weekend warriors and worriers

i know this is kind of late considering we're now heading into a new weekend, but last weekend was absolutely lovely. the weather was perfectly warm, yet crisp. after not being home the last two weekends, a lazy weekend was long overdue.

we went and saw a movie with some of our closest friends [who are currently house hunting - so exciting and stressful] and then we spent some time in the hammock. if hammocks were more common place, i think people would generally be happier. not a bad view, huh? we also grilled out together and had veggie burgers, corn on the cob, and grilled peppers with feta!



the next morning, we headed up to vogel state park with j's family to visit his grandparents who camp out there every year. it was a perfect day and on the way up, we stopped at sunrise groceries. we got some pumpkins, boiled peanuts, and apple cider. there is nothing better - hands down!



once we got into vogel, we took a stroll around the lake to enjoy the weather and changing leaves' colors. we didn't have a care in the world...

...until we ran into the sweetest beagle/ basset hound laying by the lake. he was so loving and well-mannered, but it became pretty obvious very quickly that something was missing - his owner. he looked a little older and he was not groomed. after asking around, we discovered that he [and a fellow partner in crime] are both strays who've been at the park for a while now. the ranger says that they have a shelter and food when they choose it. he also said that animal control had been called but had never come out.

we instantly starting feeling like we should bring the dog home with us, but realized it wouldn't really be fair to bring one home without the other. we wrestled with the idea all night and worried ourselves sick. we decided to make such a huge decision - to go from having zero pets to two, we'd need to get prepared and really figure out what would be best for the dogs. if the dogs are truly happy and taken care of, then it might be cruel to domesticize them, but if they are going to freeze in the winter or being taken away by animal control, maybe they'd like the spend the latter part of their lives with a couple who would love them. obviously we're still torn on what the "right" thing to do is.

what would you do in this situation? we could definitely use some sound advice. we've been torn since. we still need to call the ranger and get a better feel for the dogs' situation.

anyways - this weekend we're celebrating my dad's birthday, going to one of our best friend's halloween party, and going to the "ghastly dreadfuls" show at the center of puppetry arts! i'm so excited!

hope you have a spooooky and splendid halloween weekend!

first home ornament

we purchased our first home in february 2009 so last christmas, i was looking for an ornament to commemorate this huge milestone in our lives. we had seen this new home 2009 key ornament in hallmark, but since it was slightly expensive, i decided to pass and try to get it later on ebay. well here we are, almost a full year later, and i've had no luck at all. i can find plenty of 2008 (see below) and 2010 key ornaments, but the 2009 ornaments are wiped out. i guess that first-time home buyer tax credit really did help out the economy and get people in new homes and apparently they all bought ornaments to celebrate.



since i could not find one, i decided to make one. i had recently purchased some decorative skeleton keys from michael's and i figured they would work perfectly. i took the key and cut some paper into a strip, glued it in half around the key and then cut out a triangle from the tip of the paper to look more like a flag.


then i used a pencil to curl the end of the flag.


i used some twine to be able to hang the ornament:


and voila! it may not look as good but it is handmade and made with love. i am still trying to figure out if i should shellac the flag to make it more firm and stable.


either way, i can't wait to look back at this ornament 20 years from now and remember when we bought our first home and all the happy memories. ♥

happy birthday dad!

although you might be 60 years old today, don't let anyone tell you that you look a day over 52!

i am so lucky to have you as my dad and am so thankful for everything you've ever given me: a great love for music from the rat pack, wrinkle-free skin (well i'm crossing my fingers for this trait), rolling stones records, the most amazing wedding/ day of my life, more trips than i can remember to the caribbean, a strong work ethic, unconditional love and support, and a killer sweet tooth (wait, maybe i'm not so thankful for this one-haha)! obviously that's just barely the tip of the iceberg...



i love you so much and i know you'll overcome any obstacles currently in your path and that this will be your best year yet. although i never would have thought you'd become a vino - like a great wine, i think you just keep getting better with age. can't wait until when we can plan our next trip to NYC so you can show j the ropes and all the buildings and street corners from your youth - that's always the most fun!

hope you're day is absolutely wonderful and i can't wait to celebrate on friday!

adventures downunder

warning: this is a huge picture post!

on our 1 year wedding anniversary, j and i headed to australia! we were a bit nervous about the long trip (3 different flights totalling roughly 28 hours EACH way), but we made it! we left sunday around 5:00 PM from georgia and got into brisbane around 9:30 AM on tuesday!

while driving to the gold coast from brisbane, it was raining! we have had the worst luck this past year with unseasonable rain. although the weather was not very pleasant, after checking in at our hotel, we immediately headed to the beach. the beach was closed and the water was so choppy and dark. it was so crazy because all of the choppy water was causing huge piles of foam on the beach - i had never seen anything like it!


at least the sun did come out for a bit! we had some falafel wraps for lunch - yumm! poor j accidentally spilt his whole coca cola in his lap, but at least it gave us a good laugh, right honey?




below is the room and our view:




sadly i had to work 2 of the days we were there at a conference but j at least got to walk the beach, catch up on some reading, and even swim! he said the current in the ocean felt like a river. he also watched some of the chilean miners' rescues.


on our last day there (the best day by far) we took a day excursion to the hinterland. first we visited tropical fruit world. the yellow dragonfruit was incredible!


the views were breathtaking. the tallest peak in the background is the volcano mt. warning.




the below pictures were taken at the state border between queensland and new south wales:




then we headed into springbrook national park to see 5 different waterfalls and a natural arch bridge. we loved these strangler fig trees!








isn't he just so dang cute? ♥




we actually got to see a wallabee in the woods after we ate lunch at the springbrook manor. it's easier to see if you zoom in!


that's the gold coast in the distance!






we had the best day and even got to sit on the beach that afternoon! it was a bit too windy (for me at least) to get in but we got to see lots of surfers and get a feel for what the beach is like when it's not raining.




although it's exciting that we now have been to 4 of the 7 continents, we definitely want to go back and see more (don't worry kel, we'll come to perth next time). it was a fun trip but since it was still a work trip for me and i had to spend time away from j, it wasn't the best trip to date; however, it was a great adventure and i'm even thankful for the 56 hours spent just in transit with my wonderful husband.

feeling festive

i've always loved decorating for the holidays and halloween is definitely one of my favorites! we've been working on growing our decoration assortments for a few years, but we definitely still have a way to go. we already made a fall wreath (see post here) but i wanted to add some halloween touches to the inside of our house.

i took a chalkboard sign that i made for our wedding and wrote on it a "happy haunting" greeting (i should tell you that i realize this is pretty cheesy; however, my niece loved it and that's all that matters). i also accessorized with some black crows and i put some of the leftover materials from my wreath project and put them in a vase to add a bit more color. hmm...some cobwebs could make this space more fun!

i also bought some of the blood-dripping candles for our dining room table. j doesn't like how the wax looks more pink than red, but i think that it gets the idea across just fine.


now we just to get some pumpkins! we're going to north georgia this weekend on sunday to vogel state park and i'm hoping to pick up some pumpkins to carve this next week. i need to figure out what to carve this year!

here are some of our pumpkins from halloweens past:






halloween is just around the corner! yay!

oh my god

anyone who knows j and me knows that we watch documentaries nonstop. j recently added the documentary oh my god by peter rodger to our netflix queue and when it first arrived, i must admit that my desire to watch it was very small; however, once we started watching it, i was instantly captivated.


the film is about asking people all over the world - "what is god?" peter rodger interviews everyone from celebrities, children, religious and political leaders, atheists, and the common person.

the movie was very powerful and very surprising. i thought it was interesting that the film pointed out that every single war in history has been fought over two things: land and religion. i think it's shocking that fundamentally all religions share the same opinions on compassion and love, yet their separate ideas of god cause tension, anger, and worst of all - death and war.

i was thankful that we watched this documentary the night before the "creative journey" panel with the dalai lama, richard gere, and alice walker, because although the theme was creativity and spirituality, the conversation revolved a great deal around compassion for others and the way that various cultures view things differently.

for instance, richard gere was telling this story about this photography show that he had done with black and white photos from his travels in tibet. while walking around, the dalai lama pulled him aside and pointed to a photo with a blurred motion shot of people walking that richard gere was very fond and proud of. the dalai lama pointed to the picture and said "bad - very bad." they then discussed how for buddhists, life is about clarity and viewing everything in it's completely natural state, whereas for westerners, art is about being able to alter or shape reality. maybe it's synonymous with religion for easterners vs. westerners (please notice that i said maybe). either way, i thought it was so interesting that there is no comparable word for creativity in the tibetan language.

anyways, i've been feeling super inspired since watching this film and seeing the dalai lama (just seeing him walk into the room brought me to tears). although i can't share the dalai lama experience with you, i'd love for you to check out "oh my god" and let me know your thoughts!


Oh My God Trailer - Watch more Movie Trailers

"god is love" - ringo starr

creative jouney

so we're back from australia! we've survived the 18 hours of travel EACH way and are recovering from jetlag. i now totally understand the pain that my best friend kelly feels everytime she visits us here!

we ventured out to the gold coast in queensland, which is pretty much the ultimate australian beach town [i'd compare it to miami in the states]. amazing, right? well it would have been way more amazing if it wasn't unseasonably cold and rainy the whole time! j and i are becoming pretty notorious for traveling to beautiful places and getting the extremely random weather patterns - go figure!

once i get fully back to speed and catch up on some sleep, i'll share all of the details surrounding our trip: the hotel, the beach, our excursion to the hinterland, and some tips for traveling to australia.

in the meantime, tomorrow is going to be such an exciting day! we're going to see the dalai lama!!! he's speaking at emory tomorrow and we've been counting down the days for months! a few years ago, h.h. the dalai lama spoke at centennial park in downtown atlanta [about 50 feet from my office building] and after months and months of anxiously awaiting the event, i was told i had to travel for business that day and i missed it! even worse was that halfway to my meeting in indianapolis, the plane's automatic and manual pressure components failed so we had to turn around to atlanta because we didn't have enough gas to get us to our destination safely! so not only did i miss the event [j got to go at least and tell me about it] but i ended up back in atlanta that night and missed it for no reason!

needless to say, i was devastated and thought i'd never get the opportunity again to see the dalai lama, but at last the day has come! below are the details around the event we are attending:

"the creative journey: artists in conversation with the dalai lama about spirituality and creativity

how do the arts help us to express, or indeed to uncover, our spiritual yearnings and questions or certainties? what do the artist and the spiritual master have to teach each other from their respective disciplines? what is the role of tradition (or, conversely, iconoclasm) in maintaining or renewing art and spiritual life? is the human being innately spiritual, innately artistic?

internationally known humanitarian and award-winning actor richard gere will join pulitzer prize-winning author alice walker for "the creative journey: artists in conversation with the dalai lama on spirituality and creativity" at emory university on oct. 19."



i get goosebumps just thinking about it!

"love and compassion are necessities, not luxuries. without them humanity cannot survive." - h.h. the dalai lama